5 Weeks To Go, Worried About Low Scores

[tradkeke]

I've been studying for the summer, although I admit not as much as I should have been. However, I have been doing in general okay on TBR passages, which most said were pretty challenging (I thought so at least). However, after taking my second full length I am slightly worried.

I have taken NS 1 and 2 and I got a 505 on both. The NS 2 Bio section wrecked me.

Here is my score breakdown

NS 1: 126/126/126/127
NS 2: 127/127/125/126

I think I can improve psych because I've reviewed almost none of it because I felt decent on the first test but this second one was definitely more challenging and showed me I need to start on that harder.

I got worried because I saw one thread from awhile ago where someone said if you were scoring 505> on NS he saw like 10 point drops on AAMC.

Then I found a reddit thread where this guy would predict MCAT scores for people and someone had a solid 505-506 on all NS tests and he predicted a 514 for the guy and he got that (or like a 512, I don't remember).

Obviously I want to score as high as possible but I definitely want 510+ (515+ was my original goal but my 2 FLs pretty much threw that out of the window) and right now I feel like I'm nowhere near that.

Should I reschedule? Does anyone have any insight on if they scored similarly and what they got on either the real test or the practice AAMC tests? I don't want to take those if I'm going to reschedule as I would rather use them when I'm sure I'm going to take the real thing.

Thank you!

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[workaholic181]

Let's hope! My general idea is if I get 506+ on AAMC 2 I'll score it. If I below I'll probably void and try to reschedule for January. It'll suck to study again but it'll suck more to get a low score and then have to average a bad score and a good score! I feel much more confident now after the SBs and after that psych and soc review than I did before. Aiming for 508-510 on FL 2.

Good to hear, and I think that's a good plan.

 

[tradkeke]

Good to hear, and I think that's a good plan.

Just finished AAMC FL 2. Went better than I could have anticipated, no more depressing news.

AAMC FL 2: 511 - 128/128/127/128
Percentages: 78/83/76/86

I would be more than happy if I could get that on the FL. Now just to review this next week and try to hit that on the real exam or higher!

How would you rate the real exam in terms of difficulty compared to FL 2? Do you attribute your nice jump from FL 2 to the real thing because it felt easier or did you hammer on weak concepts your last week? I have about 8 more passages on P/S SB that I'm going to finish. After that what would you recommend? Mainly hitting weak areas (which I definitely have)? Or redoing SB again? I could mix and match both.

When I was taking I felt like I was doing not very well. Especially in some of the CARS passages but it ended up being my highest percentile. Everything else felt okay and timing was good on everything except CARS which was down to the wire but I got it done with a few minutes left.

Thank you for all the help! Without the help of the people in this thread I don't think I could have done as well as I did.

 

[workaholic181]

Just finished AAMC FL 2. Went better than I could have anticipated, no more depressing news.

AAMC FL 2: 511 - 128/128/127/128
Percentages: 78/83/76/86

I would be more than happy if I could get that on the FL. Now just to review this next week and try to hit that on the real exam or higher!

How would you rate the real exam in terms of difficulty compared to FL 2? Do you attribute your nice jump from FL 2 to the real thing because it felt easier or did you hammer on weak concepts your last week? I have about 8 more passages on P/S SB that I'm going to finish. After that what would you recommend? Mainly hitting weak areas (which I definitely have)? Or redoing SB again? I could mix and match both.

When I was taking I felt like I was doing not very well. Especially in some of the CARS passages but it ended up being my highest percentile. Everything else felt okay and timing was good on everything except CARS which was down to the wire but I got it done with a few minutes left.

Thank you for all the help! Without the help of the people in this thread I don't think I could have done as well as I did.

That's awesome man.. I got a 510 on AAMC FL 2.

It's so subjective because of how we each view the topics and god knows how different the actual exams can be on the individual dates.. with that said I felt like AAMC FL 2 was more similar to my June 30 MCAT than FL 1.

Specifically, I felt like my C/P for FL2/real were equal. B/B was easier for the real. CARS was harder for the real. P/S was harder for the real.

After my FL 2 I just hit my weak areas, C/P in general and MCAT math. I think this is a huge reason why my score improved how it did in the ten days before my exam.

It was really hard for me to just be cool with the knowledge I had in B/B and P/S and my CARS ability, but at this point you know what you know and you know what you don't. To get the highest score you can you should shore up your weak areas and trust that your hard work in your strengths will shine through on exam day too. I didn't study bio, biochemistry or any of my "strong" areas at all in the lead up to the test.

Good luck! I'm pretty invested in this haha. I think you're in a good place for the real thing.

 

[tradkeke]

That's awesome man.. I got a 510 on AAMC FL 2.

It's so subjective because of how we each view the topics and god knows how different the actual exams can be on the individual dates.. with that said I felt like AAMC FL 2 was more similar to my June 30 MCAT than FL 1.

Specifically, I felt like my C/P for FL2/real were equal. B/B was easier for the real. CARS was harder for the real. P/S was harder for the real.

After my FL 2 I just hit my weak areas, C/P in general and MCAT math. I think this is a huge reason why my score improved how it did in the ten days before my exam.

It was really hard for me to just be cool with the knowledge I had in B/B and P/S and my CARS ability, but at this point you know what you know and you know what you don't. To get the highest score you can you should shore up your weak areas and trust that your hard work in your strengths will shine through on exam day too. I didn't study bio, biochemistry or any of my "strong" areas at all in the lead up to the test.

Good luck! I'm pretty invested in this haha. I think you're in a good place for the real thing.

I think I'm gonna spend the next day reviewing my FL 2 ad nauseum then hit on my weak concepts, which I have particular weaknesses in each science I know about that I'll address. I also think I'm gonna spend a half or so taking some CARS Qbank passages to try to get my timing right for it. They bore me to death and I read them so slow. So I guess that's the game plan!

How did you spend the day before your test? Studying? Off? Light studying?

If I read back on the thread it's just a rollercoaster of emotions.

 

[workaholic181]

I think I'm gonna spend the next day reviewing my FL 2 ad nauseum then hit on my weak concepts, which I have particular weaknesses in each science I know about that I'll address. I also think I'm gonna spend a half or so taking some CARS Qbank passages to try to get my timing right for it. They bore me to death and I read them so slow. So I guess that's the game plan!

How did you spend the day before your test? Studying? Off? Light studying?

If I read back on the thread it's just a rollercoaster of emotions.

The day before I think I looked at physics equations for like a 30 mins, got a massage, played Xbox etc. take it easy. At the end of the day your biggest asset going into this test is your problem solving skills, so you'll want to be mentally fresh for that.

 

[tradkeke]

The day before I think I looked at physics equations for like a 30 mins, got a massage, played Xbox etc. take it easy. At the end of the day your biggest asset going into this test is your problem solving skills, so you'll want to be mentally fresh for that.

Pretty much done. Like done done. Going to read over my notes tomorrow but it's all pretty much over.

Confident in my test taking ability, not confident if my content knowledge can get me to score I want. Oh boy. My biggest concern is I don't know whether or not to void. Because I feel like with my lack of content knowledge if they throw something at me I'm not used to I could do poorly but I also think "Everyone thinks they bombed it, just score it". I also just want to be done with it.

Reading recent threads of reactions also screwed with me. Lots of people saying things were harder than SB etc. When you take the real MCAT do they give you your raw % scored? I'm starting to wonder if people decrease in percentage on the real test but are saved because of the curve because tons of people report having "no idea what was going on" but do great anyways. For example someone who scored a 520 said in his reaction he had no idea what was going on. If he was confused I'd be in another dimension.

How did you feel on test day through the sections? This is mainly just a venting post as none of my friends are premed but still concerned with my lack of content knowledge. I don't think redoing the SB and doing the first half of the cars qPack 1 today helped!

 

[workaholic181]

Pretty much done. Like done done. Going to read over my notes tomorrow but it's all pretty much over.

Confident in my test taking ability, not confident if my content knowledge can get me to score I want. Oh boy. My biggest concern is I don't know whether or not to void. Because I feel like with my lack of content knowledge if they throw something at me I'm not used to I could do poorly but I also think "Everyone thinks they bombed it, just score it". I also just want to be done with it.

Reading recent threads of reactions also screwed with me. Lots of people saying things were harder than SB etc. When you take the real MCAT do they give you your raw % scored? I'm starting to wonder if people decrease in percentage on the real test but are saved because of the curve because tons of people report having "no idea what was going on" but do great anyways. For example someone who scored a 520 said in his reaction he had no idea what was going on. If he was confused I'd be in another dimension.

How did you feel on test day through the sections? This is mainly just a venting post as none of my friends are premed but still concerned with my lack of content knowledge. I don't think redoing the SB and doing the first half of the cars qPack 1 today helped!

They don't give you your raw % scored, just your percentile and the accompanying number on the scale.

You would be crazy to void. Your AAMC FLs have been good and improving. You would be nuts to void with a 510 on your last FL, barring you getting violently ill in the test center or something along those lines.

I thought C/P was really hard, maybe harder than any I'd seen. Thought the same about CARS and psych. Only thing I felt good about was B/B. If I had to guess I'd say my percentage correct were down in each of these. Ended up with 129/128/129/128. So it just goes to show how you really can only worry about the question in front of you. I had to pee SO bad immediately starting C/P. After C/P and CARS, I was miserable eating my lunch and felt bad going back into the test room. I told myself I could still salvage the day and refocused to finish strong. Clearly all of that was totally dilusional. So again, stay confident.

If I were you I would just try to cool down. Your content knowledge is better than you think; no one can know everything they see on the MCAT. The most important thing is to recharge your batteries so you're fresh and your problem solving skills are up to par on test day.

What helped me on test day was I kept asking myself, "what is the best answer to this question?" You will see stuff you have not encountered before. The trick is not panicking when this happens.

If you need to look over some psych definitions or something tomorrow, then do so. I got a massage and played xbox, read some chapters in my favorite book. You know what you know, you need to trust that you've done the work, now you just need to perform.

 

[tradkeke]

They don't give you your raw % scored, just your percentile and the accompanying number on the scale.

You would be crazy to void. Your AAMC FLs have been good and improving. You would be nuts to void with a 510 on your last FL, barring you getting violently ill in the test center or something along those lines.

I thought C/P was really hard, maybe harder than any I'd seen. Thought the same about CARS and psych. Only thing I felt good about was B/B. If I had to guess I'd say my percentage correct were down in each of these. Ended up with 129/128/129/128. So it just goes to show how you really can only worry about the question in front of you. I had to pee SO bad immediately starting C/P. After C/P and CARS, I was miserable eating my lunch and felt bad going back into the test room. I told myself I could still salvage the day and refocused to finish strong. Clearly all of that was totally dilusional. So again, stay confident.

If I were you I would just try to cool down. Your content knowledge is better than you think; no one can know everything they see on the MCAT. The most important thing is to recharge your batteries so you're fresh and your problem solving skills are up to par on test day.

What helped me on test day was I kept asking myself, "what is the best answer to this question?" You will see stuff you have not encountered before. The trick is not panicking when this happens.

If you need to look over some psych definitions or something tomorrow, then do so. I got a massage and played xbox, read some chapters in my favorite book. You know what you know, you need to trust that you've done the work, now you just need to perform.

Thanks for the words of encouragement, all your time investment in this thread really has paid off for me.

I never get any pre-test or pre-competition anxiety and thought I'd be stone cold for the MCAT but this test is really f***ing me up.

 

[workaholic181]

Thanks for the words of encouragement, all your time investment in this thread really has paid off for me.

I never get any pre-test or pre-competition anxiety and thought I'd be stone cold for the MCAT but this test is really f***ing me up.

It does that to everyone dude. You've worked really hard to get to this point, you have a lot invested. But that also means you're really prepared.

 

[tradkeke]

It does that to everyone dude. You've worked really hard to get to this point, you have a lot invested. But that also means you're really prepared.

It's good to know everyone feels that way. I guess all to do now is just try to recharge tomorrow! Thanks for the encouragement. I'll either update tomorrow or after test day! I'm ready to be done with this

 

[workaholic181]

It's good to know everyone feels that way. I guess all to do now is just try to recharge tomorrow! Thanks for the encouragement. I'll either update tomorrow or after test day! I'm ready to be done with this

It will feel good to be done, you got this. Good luck OP!

 

[Blanky]

Good luck all

 

[tradkeke]

It will feel good to be done, you got this. Good luck OP!

Wowza. That was an experience. Chem/Phys felt like FL2, CARS felt pretty easy, B/B changed my life. I was so lost. P/S was decent, similar to SB.

Hoping for a good curve on those last two sections. I have no idea how I did actually but if I had to guess I would say probably like a 507. B/B was so hard for me. So overall, I think I did decent.

Without your help, I would've bombed it. Thanks for all the time you put in!!

 

[workaholic181]

Wowza. That was an experience. Chem/Phys felt like FL2, CARS felt pretty easy, B/B changed my life. I was so lost. P/S was decent, similar to SB.

Hoping for a good curve on those last two sections. I have no idea how I did actually but if I had to guess I would say probably like a 507. B/B was so hard for me. So overall, I think I did decent.

Without your help, I would've bombed it. Thanks for all the time you put in!!

Dude no prob.. for what it's worth I left my MCAT thinking 508 at best and that ended up being way low.. the curve is real. Good luck! This next month's gonna be rough.

 

[tradkeke]

Dude no prob.. for what it's worth I left my MCAT thinking 508 at best and that ended up being way low.. the curve is real. Good luck! This next month's gonna be rough.

It'll be pretty rough. The more I think about it the worse I think I did. It's such a weird feeling, I feel like I was kind of in a haze the whole time because I don't remember much of it and feel like I'm gonna get like a 490.

I would be content with 508 and thrilled with 510.

I know it's very early and I'm not saying I will need to retake, but what is a general score that I would retake at? I'm mainly just asking for general knowledge not because I think I did THAT bad (I hope).

It is pretty reassuring you thought your max was 508. I'm worried because the section I thought was hardest everyone else is saying was easy! Hopefully there is still a curve!

 

[tradkeke]

****ing gutted. 500